Ladbrokes profits rise on football betting

By Matthew Scuffham

LONDON (Reuters) - Ladbrokes said profits excluding bets placed by "high rollers" rose 13 percent in the four months to April 30, on soccer betting growth and a bigger take from gaming machines.

Its gross win increased by 16 percent, ignoring bets placed by high-stakes gamblers -- who place five-figure sums on single bets -- whose sporadic punting can make its performance volatile, Ladbrokes said on Friday.

The company also expressed an interest in buying the Tote, the government-owned bookmaker.

Ladbrokes, with 2,200 UK betting shops, saw "particularly strong" growth in soccer betting -- driven by a high-profile TV advertising campaign -- and a 26 percent rise in gross win from gaming machines known as Fixed Odds Betting Terminals (FOBTs).

Soccer betting was boosted by interest in the European Champions League where three English clubs made the semi-finals.

Gross win from FOBTs benefited from the rollout of dual-screen machines, new gaming content and extended evening opening hours following the enactment of the 2005 Gaming Act.

Those factors resulted in average weekly gross win per machine -- which offer casino-style games such as roulette and blackjack -- rising to 673 pounds from 538 pounds in the same period the year before.

Chief Executive Chris Bell said while it saw no evidence of a consumer downturn, the group is "mindful of general economic conditions" but emphasised its resilience to such a development.